Lonely-hearted nurse accidentally killed herself after making last cry for help on Facebook

A lonely-hearted nurse who failed to find love on the internet accidentally killed herself after she posted a desperate last cry for help on Facebook in the hope of being rescued.

Joanne Birt, 39, left her front door unlocked and posted an image of a person onto her social media page with the words "Please do not pity me I know."

But it is thought no-one spotted the message in time and she was found hanged in her kitchen by her lodger who arrived at the property to collect some belongings.

An inquest heard Miss Birt who studied medicine at Salford University before becoming a podiatry nurse at Yarnspinners Primary Health Care in Nelson, Lancs, had been suffering from low moods since the death of her mother in 2006.

Miss Birt was found by her lodgerCredit:
Joanne Birt

She consulted with mental health professionals and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder but began looking for men on online dating sites and would then meet up with them – even travelling to Italy one Christmas to be with one.

Her sister Amanda Carney told the Burnley hearing: "She was quite lonely and that did begin to manifest itself more and more. I think she had impulsive thoughts and anything else exacerbated that. She had risk-taking behaviour.

"A couple of Christmases ago she flew off to Italy staying with someone she met on the internet for a few days. I find that behaviour to be worrying and risk-taking. She would sign up to dating websites and meet people on there."

Amanda said she last spoke to her sister on the phone on July 14 and added: "She was crying, she was quite in a strange way. She sounded as if she was in pain. She said she couldn't go on. She said that she couldn't take anymore.

"I was trying to ask her exactly what was wrong. We had had many, many conversations over the years like this and I think I had become complacent about them.

"She sort of said things about not wanting to go on and she would attribute them to mum's death and feeling that she couldn't cope without mum being here.

"People are going to decide what they are going to do themselves. I think we did become complacent about it because what more can you say, what more can you do. It always needed Joanne to reach out to somebody. She had a lot of people to reach out to.

"Really lots of people did support Joanne both professionally and privately. One minute she would call absolutely desperate for support and help saying that she couldn't cope or go on. The next day it would magically all be back to being okay."

Miss Birt's father John Birk said that after her mother died his daughter said: "Don't worry dad I won't be here long."

Mr Birt added: "She had definitely got worse in the last 12 months. When I spoke to her last she said 'I'm going to commit suicide'. I said go on then if you're going to do it and I feel guilty about that more than anything ever."

Miss Birt's ex-partner of 22 years Fred Scott told the court that he had been in almost constant contact with her on the day before her death up until 9.21pm, with her expressing that she was "fed up" with another previous boyfriend.

Mr Scott said: "She called on and off. She said she was down, feeling a bit fed up. She said I'm fed up with him. She was saying that all day really. I had said to her that if she could get control of her demons we could work something out, I always left the door open for her.

"The thing that sticks out is that her door was unlocked, the lodger thought that was strange she didn't leave the door unlocked."

Miss Birt was found by her lodger who had planned to collect belongings.

She had definitely got worse in the last 12 months. When I spoke to her last she said 'I'm going to commit suicide'John Birk

Coroner Richard Taylor recorded a conclusion of misadventure, saying: "Joanne very highly thought of and very popular at work and very competent at work.

"There are different ways people deal with grief and it couldn't have been anticipated that for Jo her grief would manifest in the deterioration of her mental health and causing her 10-year spiral.

"During those ten years she had the support from her family who she would use as a shoulder to cry on and a listening post and they did that for her. It seems to me she seemed to want help in bursts and she would seek it over the years.

"This was a lady whose mood would be changing daily and the day before she did she was seen smiling driving her car. But then we heard from Mr Scott saying she said that she was fed up. These were rather unusual circumstances. The posting on Facebook at 8.30 that night.

"Mr Scott spoke to her throughout the day from 2pm to 9.30pm. The leaving of the door open and expecting the lodger to come back to stop her from doing what she was doing and expecting somebody in Facebook-land to have done something.

"She died because of a deliberate act but I cannot go that step further and say it was an intentional act to end her life."